Trans-Balkan Pipeline, the company in charge of the construction of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline, has offered the Bulgarian government a new technology for unloading oil to address environmental concerns.
Interestingly, the newly adopted approach is the opposite of the one which was initially adopted, and was defended by TBP executives as being safest in environmental terms.
In a statement released Monday, May 23, the TBP company announced that a revised Environmental and...

Bulgaria's Bulgargaz, a subsidiary of the Bulgarian Energy Holding, will participate in the official signing of an agreement on the Nabucco gas transit pipeline in Turkey on June 6, 2011.
Besides the Bulgarian company, the shareholders which will sign the agreement are OMV (Austria), BOTAS (Turkey), Transgaz (Romania), Mol Natural Gas (Hungary) and RWE (Germany)
Each shareholder holds an equal share of 16.67% of Nabucco Gas Pipeline International GmbH. Nabucco is estimated to cost EUR 8...

The Sofia City Hall has applied with the Regional Development Program for EU funding for its "Integrated Project for Public Transportation."
The information was reported Monday by Deputy Mayor, Lyubomir Hristov, who says the total cost of the project is estimated at EUR 61.4 M.
The funds will be used to purchase 50 new trolleys and to build a new tram rail between the Ecclesiastical Seminary through the "G.M. Dimitrov" boulevard to connect with the 18 tram line to the "Darvenitsa"...

The conclusions of the International Monetary Fund mission, which visited Bulgaria's capital Sofia during the period May 10-20, have exhibited optimism about the Bulgarian economy and state finances.
The visit was part of the IMF's surveillance under Article IV of the IMF's Articles of Agreement. The mission, headed by Catriona Purfield, met with officials from the Ministry of Finance, the Bulgarian National Bank, other government agencies, as well as representatives from the private sector,...

Smaller US companies are increasingly interested in investing in Bulgaria, Bulgarian Ambassador to Washington DC, Elena Poptodorova, says.
In an interview for the Bulgarian news agency, BTA, Poptodorova commented on her just-concluded 5-day trip across the US. She went to the cities of Chicago, Il, Houston, TX; Phoenix, AZ, and San Francisco, CA in a joint initiative with US Ambassador to Sofia, James Warlick, to secure American investments in Bulgaria.
"Big companies are very important,...

Bulgaria's culture minister has denied allegations that the National Palace of Culture NDK, one of the landmarks of the capital Sofia, is about to be put on sale.
"Nobody said that NDK would go private, in fact its privatization has been in the making before our decision and we prevented it. All offices and shops in the NDK underpass have been sold out, the covered parking, which is a gold mine, has been sold and re-sold, ", Vezhdi Rashidov explained in an interview for state-owned TV...

Bulgaria's Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant is among the most scrutinized NPPs in the world, according to the country's Energy and Economy Minister, Traicho Traikov.
Four of the total of six units at Kozloduy were closed due to EU safety requirements, Traikov pointed out during the European Nuclear Forum in Prague, featuring European Commissioner for Energy Guenther Oettinger.
The 440-MW Soviet-era Units 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the Kozloduy NPP were shut down in 2002 and 2006 on EU insistence...

There are only 5 500 rooms in three-, four-, and five-star hotels with more than 50 rooms in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, according to data announced by property consultants.
The data was presented in Sofia Thursday at a public discussion about the prospects of city hotels in the Bulgarian capital, organized by Forton International and their partner Cushman & Wakefield.
In comparison to Sofia, the city hotels in Romania's capital Bucharest have twice as many room to offer, the organizers'...

Prototypes of the cars of Chinese manufacturer Great Wall Motors that will be produced in Bulgaria's Lovech generated heated interest Thursday at the opening of the auto and agricultural equipment fair at the Ruse University "Angel Kanchev."
China's Ambassador to Bulgaria Guo Yezhou, Deputy Agriculture Minister Georgi Kostov, and a Romanian delegation from Giurgiu were among those who demonstrated great interest in the two vehicles – a jeep and a pickup truck, i.e. the models Hover and Steed...

A new shareholders' agreement for the South Stream gas transit pipeline will be signed in 2011, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller has announced.
The shareholders are going to come up with a final investment decision for the construction of the Russian-sponsored gas pipeline at the end of 2012, according to Marcel Kramer, CEO of South Stream AG, as cited by RIA Novosti Thursday.
The entire technical and economic assessment of the future pipeline, for which Bulgaria will be a geographic hub, will...

Bulgaria's antitrust regulator has given approval to US investment fund Contour Global to acquire the majority stake of Italian energy giant Enel in Maritsa East 3, a Bulgarian coal-fired plant.
Enel reached in the middle of March an agreement to sell a 73% stake in Bulgaria's lignite-fired Maritsa East 3 power plant to Contour Global LP for EUR 230 M. The impact on net debt reduction will be about EUR 450 M.
The deal will be carried out via the fund's unit Contour Global Bulgaria...

Bulgaria has lost two spots to finish 55th on the competitiveness ranking of the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), covering 59 key countries.
According to its website, the IMD is an independent non-profit foundation located in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The World Competitiveness Yearbook is widely considered to be the most comprehensive up-to-date ranking of how industrialized and emerging nations are managing their governments, businesses, people and...

Bulgaria's national resorts will be declared "settlements with particular status" with unified urban planning and management.
The information was reported by the daily Standard, citing Deputy Minister in charge of Tourism, Ivo Marinov.
These settlements will include the beach resorts of "Sunny Beach," "Albena," "Golden Sands," Dunes," and the winter ones of "Borovets," "Bansko," and "Pamporovo," among others.
Currently, ownership of the infrastructure varies from resort to...

The shale gas resources in Bulgaria could greatly improve the country's energy independence and would create a new alternative for its gas needs, Bulgarian Economy and Energy Minister, Traicho Traikov, declared.
"As far as shale gas is concerned, the global markets are changing," the Bulgarian Minister pointed out. "It is crucial that the shale gas extraction technologies are environmentally safe."
The Minister also pointed out Bulgaria is putting efforts into diversifying Bulgaria's gas...

The International Monetary Fund expects Bulgaria's economy to grow 3% at the end of this year as a global recovery boosts exports demand in the EU.
The IMF forecast for the Bulgarian economy in 2011 is below the 3.6% growth projected by the Bulgarian government in its 2011 budget.
The Washington-based global lender forecasts end-year's inflation at 5.3%, according to its latest report.
Bas Bakker, leader of the team, commented that the pace of recovery in the countries from...

Irish company Island Renewable Energy may build a wind park in the Northern Bulgarian Suhindol municipality,Nikolay Nikolov, its executive director for Southeast Europe, has announced.
The project, which may be launched after, wind measurements and a feasibility study, involves a 90-megawatt wind farm valued at EUR 130 M.
"If we decide to go ahead with the project, construction may start in some three years," Nikolov said, as cited by Bloomberg, adding that the conclusive decision also...

The current price of oil around USD 100 per barrel is completely fair, according to Russian oil company Lukoil's president Vagit Alekperov.
Over the spring, company's Bulgarian subsidiary, Lukoil Bulgaria, has been accused by consumers of exploiting its dominant marked position and creating unrealistically high end prices.
The putting into question of Lukoil Bulgaria's price formation was seconded by Bulgarian Minister of Economy and Energy Traicho Traikov, only to be chastised by PM...

Bulgarian tycoon Tsvetelina Borislavova, more publicly known as the woman with whom Prime Minister Boyko Borisov formerly lived out of wedlock, has returned in the banking sector with a sizable purchase.
Through her company Clever Synergies Investment Fund (CSIF), Borislavova bought Monday 49.99% of the Bulgarian-American Credit Bank, the CSIF announced.
The contract for the sale of 49.99% of the Bulgarian-American Credit Bank was signed Monday between the previous owner of the share, the...

Bulgarian energy tycoon Hristo Kovachki has been allowed to sell two heating utilities to offshore companies registered in the Seychelles.
Bulgaria's Competition Protection Commission approved Monday the sale of the two plants.
The heating utility in the northern city of Pleven is sold to Cornworth Ltd, while the heating utility in the Black Sea city of Burgas – to Worthforth Ltd.
According to the competition watchdog, the two deals will not affect the horizontal or vertical...

Bulgaria presents exciting trade and investment opportunities for US companies, US Ambassador James Warlick said before embarking on a "Road Show" in four US cities together with AmCham and his Bulgarian counterpart in DC.
"There are many advantages for establishing business relationships here in Bulgaria such as the well-educated and motivated workforce, the low and flat tax rate, quick access to regional markets, and entry into Europe, to name a few... This is the right time to invest, and...